| Lac-aux-Sables | |
| Settlement Type: | Parish municipality |
| Pushpin Map: | Canada Central Quebec |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in central Quebec. |
| Coordinates: | 46.8667°N -96°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Mauricie |
| Subdivision Type3: | RCM |
| Subdivision Name3: | Mékinac |
| Established Title1: | Constituted |
| Established Date1: | 24 April 1899 |
| Government Footnotes: | [1] |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Yvan Hamelin |
| Leader Name2: | Laviolette |
| Area Total Km2: | 286.20 |
| Area Land Km2: | 270.48 |
| Population Total: | 1373 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | 5.1 |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Pop 2006-2011 |
| Population Blank1: | 4.6% |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Dwellings |
| Population Blank2: | 1068 |
| Timezone: | EST |
| Utc Offset: | −5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −4 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code(s) |
| Postal Code: | G0X 1M0 |
| Area Code: | 418 and 581 |
| Blank Name: | Highways |
| Blank Info: | |
Lac-aux-Sables is a parish municipality in the Mékinac Regional County Municipality (MRC de Mékinac), in administrative district of the Mauricie region of the province of Quebec in Canada. Its population centres are Lac-aux-Sables and Hervey-Jonction.
Since its origins, the sector Hervey-Jonction with 300 inhabitants, is linked to the history of Lac-aux-Sables. Sector Hervey-Jonction is an area dotted with adventure vacation cottages, rivers, lakes and wild forests. On the religious aspect, the Catholic parish St. Leopold d'Hervey-Jonction serves the local population. On the civilian side, the sector is integrated into the municipality of Lac-aux-Sables.
Hervey-Jonction is the location of the Hervey-Jonction Station that is used today as a switching point for two passenger Via Rail trains (Abitibi and Saguenay). Hervey-Jonction railway station was built in 1905 and is now the junction of trains from Montreal to Quebec City, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Haut-Saint-Maurice (upper Saint-Maurice region) and Abitibi.
Since its origins, the sector of Hervey-Jonction which has a population of about 300 inhabitants, is linked to the history of Lac-aux-Sables. On the religious side, the service Saint-Leopold Hervey-Jonction serves the local population. On the civilian side, this area has been integrated into the parish municipality of Lac-aux-Sables since the beginning.The second Hervey station was built in 1905 and is then the junction point for trains from Montréal to the city of Quebec, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, the Haut-Saint-Maurice and the Abitibi. Now, the train stops for a few minutes to separate and route the two passenger trains (the Abitibi] and the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean.
North of the village, the area of Hervey Jonction is dotted with cottages, rivers, lakes and wild forests.
The municipality of the parish of Lac-aux-Sables is located about 95 kilometers northwest of the Quebec City, in the populated part of the Mékinac Regional County Municipality. The Batiscan River cut the municipal territory into two parts. The right bank of the Batiscan River has two major tributaries: the Propre River (meaning: "clean River" in English) and Tawachiche River.
The toponym "Lac aux Sables" comes from the lake of the same name. The lake has three tributaries, the most important is the outlet of "Brulé Lake". The two other are the outlets of Veillette Lake and "à la roche" (river to the rock). The mouth of the "Lac-aux-Sables" (Lake of sand) flows through the south into the Propre River whose path passes through Huron Lake (located to the west).
The territory of Lac-aux-Sables is mostly included in the Batiscanie, except the area of Missionary Lake at the western boundary, on the edge of Sainte-Thèecle which flows in the sub-basin of the Mekinac River, unless another area on the edge of Saint-Ubalde, Quebec (East) which flows into the Charest river.
In 2004, Lac-Masketsi (unorganized territory) was reduced in size by some 90km² when portions were annexed by mostly Trois-Rives (70 km²) as well as Lac-aux-Sables (20 km²).
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Lac-aux-Sables had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 269.7km2, it had a population density of in 2021.[2]
Population trend:[3]
| Year | Population | Variation (%) | Median age | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5.9% | 53,3 year | ||
| 2011 | 4.6% | 53,4 year | ||
| 2006 | 0.0% | |||
| 2001 | 8.9% | |||
| 1996 | 0.9% | |||
| 1991 | ||||
| 1986 | - |
Mother tongue:
The territory of Lac-aux-Sables began to be developed in 1871 with the construction of a road Notre-Dame-des-Anges to Lac-aux-Sables, in order to accommodate farmers from Canton Chavigny (Township). The area began to be settled in the 1880s. The parish of Saint-Rémi of Lac-aux-Sables was canonically erected as of 21 January 1897, and the Municipality of Lac-aux-Sables parish was erected civilly as of 24 April 1899. The territory of Saint-Rémi-du-Lac-aux-Sables was detached from Notre-Dame-des-Anges-de-Montauban, Saint-Casimir and Saint-Ubalde in 1899. The municipality was renamed Lac-aux-Sables in 1983.
In the 21st century, the resort and forestry sectors are the main economic drivers, with agriculture a secondary economic activity. The majority of workers work outside the municipality in forestry, rail, health, and social services.
Services located in Lac-aux-Sables include the post office beginning in 1892, telephone service in 1908, an electric power network since 1925, a waterworks since 1949, the collection of household waste since 1967, a fire protection service since 1967, a planning and municipal development since 1982, a water treatment plant since 1983, and a waste recovery service since 1987.